Cultural Influences on Disgust Responses in Misophonia

In a 2026 study, Rappoldt and colleagues characterized misophonia in 95 treatment-seeking youth aged 8–18 and their parents using a broad clinical assessment battery. In discussing disgust responses, the authors emphasized that these reactions are shaped by social, cultural, and linguistic context. The same behavior may be interpreted differently across situations or cultures, and differences in emotional vocabulary may affect reporting. For example, the Dutch term for disgust may be less familiar to children in the Netherlands than the corresponding English term, potentially influencing endorsement rates. Reported disgust responses have varied across studies, with prior samples showing rates of 52.2%, 68%, and 52.3%, compared with 38.3% in the current study. (Rappoldt et al., 2026)